closed;

[negativegate]

When; Nov. 1st and Nov. 5th
Rating; PG-13-ish with death and violence.
Characters; Rita (negativegate) and Tyr (blackshadow)
Summary; Rita and Tyr losing their heads. One of these is literal.
Log;

Once the influence of the Halloween curse ended and they were both back to normal, Rita...well, she felt pretty awkward. She'd had no idea the costume she'd worn was some vampire from Tyr's world, and there she'd gone and bitten his neck. Thinking about the fact that she actually drank his blood--it grossed her out. But at least she hadn't hurt him.

But it was exactly that which also struck her as a little weird. Tyr didn't usually like having his neck touched all that much, so it could've been the influence of the curse...

In any case, here it is in the morning, and Rita's still in costume at the house because she hasn't been bothered to change. She should probably apologize to Tyr if he's awake and see how he is.

Comments

[negativegate]

She doesn't want to take away all his body heat, even if she doesn't like this feeling of being dead and frigid. Maybe she shouldn't spend too much time washing his hair, after all... It ends up getting a quick scrub, and then she pulls her hands away. "There... That should do it."

[blackshadow]

He blinks when she pulls away and thinks about protesting, but there'd be point in that. Instead, just just nods and goes ahead and dunks his head again, rinsing all the suds in the same water. He reasons that she wasn't really the type to take long baths before, so maybe she didn't think of doing anything but a quick job. That's it, he thinks, as he combs his bangs back over his head again.

"Yeah, that'll be fine... My hair doesn't really get that dirty..." he agrees, trailing off. Now they should...do what Rita said, but he really just wants to stay in the bath.

But he won't. He turns around in the tub to face her again. "Besides, we have more important things to do."

[negativegate]

"Yeah," she agrees, face solemn again. "We can't stay in here forever." Even if either of them wanted to. There's a mess outside the door, and they can't hide from it.

Still, it's sad to realize that she didn't give him much of a chance to relax. She doesn't really think he'll relax when her hands are so cold, though, so...this was probably the best thing to do.

[blackshadow]

She hit the nail on the head either way. He really would stay in here if he had the option to do so... And in a way, he does, but he won't accept it. Rita's hands, her whole body temperature, doesn't bother him as much as everything else about the past two days does.

Standing up, he grabs a towel to dry himself off, all his actions very automatic. If nothing else, he hasn't forgotten how to push things aside. "Right... We need to take care of this entire mess first..." And find a way to protect Rita from another attack whether the police help them or they have to do it on their own. That's the first priority.

[negativegate]

There isn't exactly a happy way to go about this, so as long as Tyr can handle it, they should get it over with. She finishes towelling herself dry, then tugs on the clothes Tyr brought. She doesn't even care if they're plain, since she doesn't feel like being flashy right now.

"Do you have your device with you?" she asks. Hers isn't in here, so if he doesn't have his either, they'll have to head back out.

[blackshadow]

But he nods in response as he quickly pulls Luc's clothes on. "Back in the bedroom... I haven't...used it at all, though..." So no-one knows what happened to Rita. Unless she wants to tell them, they won't ever know.

He takes hold of her hand without flinching at the iciness. Showing affection doesn't mean as much to him now as just guarding her does, but if he can do both at once... "Let's just get it. My staff is in there, too."

[negativegate]

She's glad he can hold her hand still...and she gives it a little squeeze as she nods. "All right. Let's go." She doesn't think about whether or not to tell anyone else right now, just about doing what they can for the moment. She goes ahead and opens the door, unable to avoid looking at the bloodstains, but stepping forward and pulling Tyr with her, anyway.

[blackshadow]

Tyr's eyes practically stare at the stains as they pass like he's looking for something - some sign there was someone else there - but pulls them away as they cross over into his room. His hand holds onto hers so tightly; he doesn't want to let her go...

"I'll make the calls for you," he tells her in case she wasn't sure that was intention from the start. "I'll let you use it afterwards..."

[negativegate]

She can't help but think this is worse for him than it is for her. Looking at it, she feels mostly numb and a little anxious. But she isn't going to argue with him. "If that's what you want to to," is her reply.

Soon, they're past the hallway and into the bedroom. Now that Rita's paying it more attention, she sees there's blood here, too--primarily footprints across the floor and stains on the bed...where she woke up.

[blackshadow]

It's hard for Tyr to look at and draws his eye in at the same time. All that blood... All Rita's blood. It's no wonder she's so pale now... His nails dig into her skin for just a second before he realises what he's doing and lets go of her.

"I do... It's my job since...it's my place," he says quietly. And he knows what happened to her more than she does... He still grabs his staff from its place by the door before grabbing the device from the floor.

[negativegate]

She just stands where she is once he lets go and watches him. That brief feeling of his nails convinces her that it's bothering him at least as much as her, if not more. But she isn't going to argue with him.

As soon as he picks up his things, she pockets her own device and reaches for his hand again. "Let's go out to the living room." Where it's clean, she hopes.

[blackshadow]

He looks up at her and blinks. He hadn't even thought of leaving the room, but they'll need to soon...

"Right- let's do that..." he agrees readily. It's a little reprieve for now, and he takes her hand again once he slips the device in his pocket. "Do you want to eat after this? I...don't really feel like cooking..."

Or thinking about how she can't enjoy food now.

[negativegate]

She gives his hand a gentle squeeze and nods, thinking more for his sake than hers. "Yeah... You were hungry earlier, right? Besides, there's no ingredients here."

[blackshadow]

Having her agree makes him feel warm... Even if it's a perfectly logical thing to say, it feels like more than that since there's nothing in it for her.

"Right... We'd have to go all the way back home to cook if I was going to make something..." And he kind of wants something warm and filling, but since Rita is coming too... "We can get something sweet to share."

[negativegate]

She really wants him to be okay. As they head out past the splattered blood again, she puts her focus on Tyr. "That sounds good..." And it's not like she ever thinks there's anything wrong with dessert for lunch.

[blackshadow]

He puts his focus on thinking what to have for lunch. Pie would be warm, but it can't really be eaten with one hand... "How about we get a sampler to share? Some cake, some cookies..."

[negativegate]

"Then we can get a few different things..." Even if she likes sweets, Tyr could ask for just about anything and she wouldn't argue.

At least the living room is clean, she thinks as they step in. It looks half-abandoned but otherwise normal, as if just down the hallway she hadn't died earlier.

[blackshadow]

It looks like a ghost house. It doesn't really feel the same way that it used to. There's a feeling of emptiness to it...

But at least it's away from Rita's blood.

"Right," he says. "Anything you want to try?"

And maybe now he's just putting off calling the police.

[negativegate]

But Rita just...can't really get into thinking about food right now, so she shakes her head. "Anything you want is fine with me," she says. "Let's call first, anyway." She doesn't really think about how he might be trying to put it off. Rita would rather get it over with.

[blackshadow]

His smile fades as he comes back down to earth.

"...Yeah. We can think about this later..." he agrees. And she is right. They - he - should deal with the business at hand first. Pulling the device out of his pocket, he goes to sit on the couch with his staff beside him.

Even if he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't stumble over his words...much...in the call. There was a murder. Of his fiancée. He doesn't know who the murderer was. He only really has trouble explaining how she died - she was beheaded - and he just refuses to meet anyone in person for an interview. He doesn't even care now if he sounds angry.

[negativegate]

She stays standing while he makes the call, feeling a little restless. She never interrupts, even if he does sound angry--she could never blame him for being angry or upset that someone important to him died. She'd be screaming if he died. And hearing him stumble a little makes her think back to the splatters and pools of blood before she can stop herself, and she finally decides to sit down next to him until he finishes.

[blackshadow]

It's not long after he refuses to speak in person that he closes the call. His eyes already watery just thinking back on what happened, but he doesn't want to cry again. It...really hurts to remember... He reaches out for her hand when she sits beside him.

"They said they'll look into it," he tells her shakily.

[negativegate]

It really worries her to see how much making the phone call has shaken him up. She takes his hand and holds it tightly to try and comfort him. "Thanks... That's all we need to do about it for now." She supposes they shouldn't clean up the blood yet if the police might want to look at it...

"Are you all right?" She asks that because she isn't sure if he's ready to go out and get something to eat right now.

[blackshadow]

He nods readily. "I'm fine," he says after a breath, and despite himself reaches up to rub his face with his hand. There's a disconnect between knowing he should try to look stronger and knowing he doesn't have to with Rita. Usually doesn't have to. He's pretty sure this is one of those times he should be strong for her.

...But he still holds her hand tightly. "You're okay, too, right?"

[negativegate]

Although she doesn't believe that he's fine, she isn't going to call him out. Neither of them are really fine, even if she gives him a slight nod, too. "Yeah..." And she just decides to leave it at that. It's sort of true, at least--she's about as fine as she can be in this situation, but not like normal.